The present disclosure relates generally to a stabilizing device for a handgun and, more particularly, to a handgun brace that receives and engages the user's forearm to stabilize the handgun during firing.
The accuracy, speed, and precision with which a handgun can be reliably fired depend greatly upon the user's ability to hold the handgun steady while aiming and discharging it. This can be particularly challenging for physically disabled persons who cannot firmly grip or steady a handgun for a period of time sufficient to accurately fire the handgun. The difficulty of holding a handgun in a steady position is heightened during one-handed operation because a user must bear much of the weight and recoil of the handgun with the wrist of one hand, which can cause the user's hand and wrist to tire prematurely and negatively impact the user's ability to safely and reliably handle and fire the handgun. This problem is further increased with large frame handguns in which the weight of the handgun is centered at a location forward of the grip because such handguns require the user to continuously exert a counterbalancing force on the grip to maintain the handgun in a steady firing position and prevent the muzzle of the handgun from tilting downward.
A number of devices designed to attach to a handgun to aid a user in holding or stabilizing the handgun are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,869,444 discloses an flexible cuff that attaches to a handgun and employs a pair of elongated spaced flaps between which a user's forearm is secured with an adjustable securement strap to help stabilize the handgun during firing. However, the flaps apply oppositely directed inward forces to grip a user's forearm, which can chafe the user's forearm during prolonged use, while the strap requires the use of a second hand to operate, which introduces an undesirable degree of complexity that may be difficult for physically disabled users to overcome.
By contrast, the device marketed at the time of filing as the SHOCKWAVE® Blade Pistol Stabilizer employs a vertical stabilizing fin that rests against the inside of a user's forearm to stabilize an attached handgun during firing. Although designed with apertures through which a standard rifle sling may optionally be threaded to secure the fin to the user's forearm, in the absence of an accompanying sling or securement strap, the device relies solely on friction between the user's forearm and the fin to stabilize the handgun vertically during firing, which may be insufficient to adequately stabilize large frame handguns.
Accordingly, what is need are improvements in stabilizing devices for handguns.